SAN DIEGO — An anti-human trafficking sting at last weekend's San Diego Comic-Con International resulted in 14 arrests of people seeking to purchase sex and the recovery of 10 potential sex trafficking victims, authorities announced Wednesday.
The operation involved law enforcement officers working undercover as sex buyers in order to identify traffickers and victims, as well as the posting of fake advertisements soliciting sex.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said there's an average of 5,000 sex trafficking victims in San Diego County each year — most are 15 and 16-year-old children.
“We are still one of the safest urban counties in America, but it's because of this level of collaboration and the ability to leverage technology, tools and sophisticated operations to make San Diego safe,” Stephan said.
From Thursday through Saturday, 14 alleged sex buyers were arrested and 10 victims recovered, including one who was 16 years old, according to the California Attorney General's Office, which said support services were provided for the victims.
"Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large-scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
The operation was conducted by the multi-agency San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, composed of federal and state law enforcement agencies and prosecutorial offices.
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